Controlled pressure surgical dressing and method of making same

ABSTRACT

A lofty, porous, high bulk, extremely soft surgical dressing is provided herein that supplies controlled light pressure, when applied to a wound, along the entire patient-dressing interface, while also supplying a most positive cushioning and aeration characteristic in the dressing. The dressing is formed by cutting a section of washed gauze two to six plies thick so as to be 2 to 3 times the length of an absorbent batt or matrix to be used therewith. The absorbent batt or matrix consists of a section of deregistered permanently crimped acetate tow, or other permanently crimped fibrous tow, and is positioned approximately in the center of the cut section of the washed gauze. The washed gauze is then folded over the deregistered tow batt so as to provide a set of openable wings or tabs which can be used to anchor the dressing in place and supply a gentle, yet noticeable pressure on the wound.

United States Patent [191 Chesky 1 Nov. 18, 1975 1 CONTROLLED PRESSURE SURGICAL DRESSING AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME [75] Inventor: Sheldon R. Chesky, Algonquin, 111. [73] Assignee: The Kendall Company, Boston,

Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward J. Scahill, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A lofty, porous, high bulk, extremely soft surgical dressing is provided herein that supplies controlled light pressure, when applied to a wound, along the entire patient-dressing interface, while also supplying a most positive cushioning and aeration characteristic in the dressing. The dressing is formed by cutting a section of washed gauze two to six plies thick so as to be 2 to 3 times the length of an absorbent batt or matrix to be used therewith. The absorbent batt or matrix consists of a section of deregistered permanently crimped acetate tow, or other permanently crimped fibrous tow, and is positioned approximately in the center of the cut section of the washed gauze. The washed gauze is then folded over the deregistered tow batt so as to provide a set of openable wings or tabs which can be used to anchor the dressing in place and supply a gentle, yet noticeable pressure on the wound.

23 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures CONTROLLED PRESSURE SURGICAL DRESSING AND METHOD OF MAKINGSAME BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates to surgical dressings,and more particularly to a controlled pressure surgical dressing utilizing an absorbent batt of deregistered crimped tow, and a method of making same.

Conventional wound dressings in the form of sponges and the like can generally be divided into four major types or categories.

Plain gauze dressings are generally transfer types of dressing used either directly on a wound, or indirectly over a non-adherent dressing. The primary function of this type dressing is to lift and transfer the blood and other wound exudates from the wound into a fluid holding reservoir, such as an abdominal pad.

Washed gauze dressings are used where a softer, more open mesh, bulkier sponge might be needed for transfer. Such dressings have been made to provide a sponge structure that, when applied, supplies some gentle pressure and better cushioning than unwashed gauze sponges, however, inherently the structure is not uniform in thickness and several plies have to be utilized to provide optimal pressure. Additionally, while the washed gauzedressing is more absorbent than an 8 ply or l2-ply plain gauze sponge, the structure has limited absorbency when compared to a 16 ply plain gauze sponge on a weight to weight comparison.

Another type of dressing in use today is a filled gauze sponge, which consists of one or two plies of unwashed gauze, an inner matrix of cotton or rayon fibers, and in some cases a layer of creped cellulose wadding used as an inner carrier. This type of dressing can be utilized as a small fluid reservoir for soaking up and holding limited amounts of exudate. It lacks the softness and bulk, and the ability to transfer exudates in the same amounts that can be achieved with washed gauze.

Finally, another type of sponge or dressing being used today is similar to the filled gauze sponge with the only difference being the replacement of thev gauze cover with a nonwoven material. Dressings of this type have characteristics similar to filled gauze sponges, but have additional deficiencies, for example, the structure has decreased strength when wet as compared to gauze,

and the existence of a chemical binder in nonwoven materials can be potentially irritating to some patients. As described above, each of the four general types of dressings used today has its limits in function due to the design and construction, as well as the materials used therein. Optimally, the most desirable dressing would be one that incorporates as many of the positive characteristics as possible, while eliminating or reducing as many negative features described above as possible.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to produce a surgical dressing that has the absorbency and take up of a filled gauze or a filled nonwoven surgical sponge, and the softness, conformability and wicking ability of a washed gauze dressing. It is another object of the present invention to produce a lofty, porous and soft dressing that supplies controlled light pressure along the patient-dressing interface when applied to a wound to provide support thereto.

It is a further object of thisinvention to provide a dressing that is porous enough to provide adequate aeration to a wound, while still yielding a most positive cushioning effect thereto.

It is still another object of the instant invention to provide an absorbent batt material that is relatively inexpensive when compared to the price of todays raw materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A surgical dressing is formed by cutting a section of washed gauze two to six plies thick so as to be 2 to 3 times the length of an absorbent batt or matrix to be placed therein. The absorbent batt advantageously consists of a portion or section of deregistered crimped tow, such as crimped acetate tow, and is positioned approximately in the center of the cut section of the washed gauze. The raw edges of the cut section of the gauze are then folded lengthwise over on themselves, completely covering the absorbent batt. The selvage edge can then be folded over upon itself so as to form a compact square or rectangle, the selvage folds then acting as a set of openable wings or tabs which can be used to anchor the dressing in place over a wound and supply a noticeable, yet controllable pressure on the wound. The resultant novel structure produces a lofty, high bulk, porous and extremely soft surgical dressing that provides good aeration to a wound, while still yielding a most positive cushioning effect thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the surgical dressing of this invention, prior to any folds having been made therein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dressing of this invention, having a fold made therein;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the completed dressing of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of an alternate absorbent matrix that can be used in this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of the dressing described in this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A controlled pressure dressing is a novel concept in the functional wound dressing-area. It provides the absorbency and capillarity of a filled gauze or filled nonwoven sponge along with the softness, conformability and wicking ability of a washed gauze dressing.

This dressing can best be described by referring to the drawings in which FIGS. 1-3 show a portion of washed gauze 11, having a thickness of two to six plies, preferably three plies, which has been cut to be two to three times the length of an absorbent batt or matrix 12 that is to be positioned substantially in the middle thereof.

The absorbent batt 12 is a section of deregistered permanently crimped towof either a synthetic or natural fiber. The tow can advantageously be an acetate tow and can be deregistered in three dimensions by any process known to those skilled in the art. The deregistering process greatly enhances the fiber freedom of the individual filaments therein and thus induces a superior bulk and advantageously produces a more absorbent batt. The material selected must only have been initially crimped and then deregistered in order to produce the absorbency desired. Tow, rather than staple fiber, should be used to avoid the possibility of fiber ends breaking off and protruding into the wound, thus eliminating a potential source of wound contamination.

In the prior art, staple fiber, rather than tow, has been routinely used in filled sponges.

The washed gauze 11, having the absorbent batt l2 thusly positioned therein can be folded in the following manner: the raw edges and 16 are folded lengthwise over each other along dotted lines a a and b b respectively, to show the structure of FIG. 2. The selvage edges 13 and 14 of the washed gauze then form a pair of openable wings or tabs, such as at 21, that can be folded widthwise over each other along dotted lines c c and d d so as to form a compact surgical dressing. The openable tabs 21 formed at the outer extremities of the gauze 11 on either side of the deregistered tow 12 can be used to anchor the dressing in place over a wound and to provide a controllable pressure on the wound by way of the dressing.

The use of deregistered permanently crimped tow as the absorbent batt has been found to be particularly advantageous for a number of reasons, not the least of which are, that when crimped tow is deregistered it tries to retain its volume displacement; that permanently set crimped tow wont collapse, so therefore, a dressing utilizing same will have a cushioning effect; and, further, that moisture wont collapse deregistered tow making the material all the more desirable.

A preferred washed gauze material can be obtained by using the process set forth in US. Pat. No. 3,081,370 to Secrist, of common assignee, which describes a hot water bulking treatment to a single-ply of open-meshed gauze fabrics. The fabric of US. Pat. No. 2,081,370 is characterized by the presence in the fabric of a multiplicity of crunodal loops, where yarns curve up or down out of the plane of the fabric, form a complete loop, and then continue their path in their original direction. A plurality of plies of this material can be used for this invention up to six plies, three plies being preferable as stated above.

In order to enhance the spreading of fluid into the deregistered tow, one or more plies of absorbent crepe cellulose wadding, or the like, may be wrapped around the tow as shown in FIG. 4 wherein the tow is shown as 31, and the crepe cellulose wadding is 32. As shown therein, the crepe cellulose wadding 32 is wrapped completely around the tow 31 of the deregistered acetate so as to very quickly spread any fluids thereon into the tow. While crepe cellulose wadding is desirable for these purposes, any absorbent material can be used so long as it is capable of taking up and spreading fluids therethrough. Ideally, the absorbent crepe cellulose wadding is cut to a width equal to the width of the deregistered tow and long enough to at least wrap same completely around the tow material.

An alternate embodiment for the dressing of this invention is shown in FIG. 5, wherein essentially the same construction is used. However, in this embodiment, the deregistered tow matrix 42 has a substantially rectangular configuration and the raw edges 45 and 46 of the washed gauze material 41 are folded over onto each other along dotted lines a a and b b to form a more elongated dressing than shown in FIG. 2. The thusly folded dressing also provides openable wings or tabs on either side of the deregistered tow that act as anchoring points for securing this type dressing to such areas as the perineum, rectum/anus and the axilla. The wings or tabs thusly formed can then be folded over toward themselves as along dotted lines c c and d a" so that the selvage edges at 43 and 44 are on the outermost portion of the dressing, while the more ragged raw edges 45 and 46 lie underneath same.

This embodiment may also contain at least one ply of absorbent crepe cellulose wadding surrounding the absorbent matrix of deregistered tow for enhancing the spreading of fluid into the tow, as described and shown in FIG. 4 above. This structure will produce an extemely comfortable dressing that will produce a controlled pressure on the wound, while preventing or avoiding any trauma to the patient.

While deregistered acetate tow is described above, it is most important that whatever fiber material is used that it be permanently crimped and deregistered. A thusly treated material will surprisingly act as being more absorbent than prior art absorbent batts and will have no loose ends, as opposed to staple fiber lengths that would have loose protruding edges that could possibly cause problems for the patient.

Since it is obvious that many changes and modifications can be made in the above-described details without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to said details except as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying a controlled pressure to a wound comprising:

a portion of washed gauze material having a plurality of superimposed plies therein; and,

a batt of three-dimensionally deregistered pennanently crimped tow positioned substantially in the middle of said washed gauze material and being smaller than said washed gauze material, said deregistered crimped tow being completely covered by lengthwise folds of said gauze material.

2. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said tow is an acetate tow.

3. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said deregistered crimped tow is completely covered by lengthwise and widthwise folds of said gauze material.

4. The dressing of claim 1 wherein the outer extremities of said gauze material located at either side of said deregistered crimped tow are anchoring tabs that can be used for securing said dressing to a contacting surface.

5. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said portion of washed gauze material has from two to six plies.

6. The dressing of claim 2 wherein said batt of deregistered crimped tow is completely covered with a highly absorbent material.

7. The dressing of claim 6 wherein said highly absorbent material is crepe cellulose wadding.

8. The dressing of claim 7 wherein said washed gauze material has a thickness of three plies.

9. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said deregistered crimped tow has a substantially rectangular configuration, and said dressing has a substantially rectangular configuration.

10. The dressing of claim 9 wherein said tow is an acetate tow.

11. The dressing of claim 9 wherein said batt of deregistered crimped tow is surrounded by a highly absorbent material.

12. The dressing of claim 11 wherein said highly absorbent material is creped cellulose wadding.

13. The dressing of claim 9 wherein the outer extremities of said gauze material located at either side of said deregistered crimped tow are anchoring tabs that can be used for securing said dressing to a contacting surface.

14. A lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying a controlled pressure to a wound comprising:

a portion of washed gauze material having a thickness of three superimposed plies therein;

a batt of three-dimensionally deregistered permanently crimped acetate tow positioned substantially in the middle of said washed gauze material and being smaller than said washed gauze material, said deregistered crimped acetate tow being completely covered by crepe cellulose wadding, said thusly covered acetate tow being completely covered by lengthwise and widthwise folds of said gauze material, said widthwise folds acting as anchoring tabs on either side of said covered deregistered acetate tow.

15. A method of making a lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying a controlled pressure to a wound comprising:

providing a portion of washed gauze material having a plurality of superimposed plies therein;

deregistering permanently crimped tow material, said deregistering being three-dimensional;

forming a batt of said deregistered crimped tow;

positioning said batt substantially in the middle of said portion of washed gauze material, said batt being smaller than said washed gauze material; and,

folding said washed gauze material lengthwise onto said batt so as to completely cover same.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said tow material is an acetate tow.

17. The method of claim 15 including folding said gauze material widthwise so as to cover said lengthwise fold.

18. The method of claim 15 including covering said deregistered tow with a highly absorbent material.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said highly absorbent material is crepe cellulose wadding.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein said deregistered tow has a substantially rectangular configuration.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein said deregistered tow is an acetate tow.

22. The method of claim 21 including folding said washed gauze material widthwise thereof so as to form anchorable tabs on either side of said deregistered tow material.

23. A method of forming a lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying controlled pressure to a wound comprising:

providing a portion of washed gauze material having three superimposed plies therein;

deregistering permanently crimped acetate tow, said deregistering being three-dimensional;

forming a batt of said deregistered acetate tow;

covering said deregistered crimped tow with a crepe cellulose wadding;

positioning said batt substantially in the middle of said washed gauze material;

folding said washed gauze material lengthwise and widthwise of said tow material so as to cover said covered tow material. 

1. A lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying a controlled pressure to a wound comprising: a portion of washed gauze material having a plurality of superimposed plies therein; and, a batt of three-dimensionally deregistered permanently crimped tow positioned substantially in the middle of said washed gauze material and being smaller than said washed gauze material, said deregistered crimped tow being completely covered by lengthwise folds of said gauze material.
 2. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said tow is an acetate tow.
 3. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said deregistered crimped tow is completely covered by lengthwise and widthwise folds of said gauze material.
 4. The dressing of claim 1 wherein the outer extremities of said gauze material located at either side of said deregistered crimped tow are anchoring tabs that can be used for securing said dressing to a contacting surface.
 5. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said portion of washed gauze material has from two to six plies.
 6. The dressing of claim 2 wherein said batt of deregistered crimped tow is completely covered with a highly absorbent material.
 7. The dressing of claim 6 wherein said highly absorbent material is crepe cellulose wadding.
 8. The dressing of claim 7 wherein said washed gauze material has a thickness of three plies.
 9. The dressing of claim 1 wherein said deregistered crimped tow has a substantially rectangular configuration, and said dressing has a substantially rectangular configuration.
 10. The dressing of claim 9 wherein said tow is an acetate tow.
 11. The dressing of claim 9 wherein said batt of deregistered crimped tow is surrounded by a highly absorbent material.
 12. The dressing of claim 11 wherein said highly absorbent material is creped cellulose wadding.
 13. The dressing of claim 9 wherein the outer extremities of said gauze material located at either side of said deregistered crimped tow are anchoring tabs that can be used for securing said dressing to a contacting surface.
 14. A lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying a controlled pressure to a wound comprising: a portion of washed gauze material having a thickness of three superimposed plies therein; a batt of three-dimensionally deregistered permanently crimped acetate tow positioned substantially in the middle of said washed gauze material and being smaller than said washed gauze material, said deregistered crimped acetate tow being completely covered by crepe cellulose wadding, said thusly covered acetate tow being completely covered by lengthwise and widthwise folds of said gauze material, said widthwise folds acting as anchoring tabs on either side of said covered deregistered acetate tow.
 15. A method of making a lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying a controlled pressure to a wound comprising: providing a portion of washed gauze material having a plurality of superimposed plies therein; deregistering permanently crimped tow material, said deregistering being three-dimensional; forming a batt of said deregistered crimped tow; positiOning said batt substantially in the middle of said portion of washed gauze material, said batt being smaller than said washed gauze material; and, folding said washed gauze material lengthwise onto said batt so as to completely cover same.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein said tow material is an acetate tow.
 17. The method of claim 15 including folding said gauze material widthwise so as to cover said lengthwise fold.
 18. The method of claim 15 including covering said deregistered tow with a highly absorbent material.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein said highly absorbent material is crepe cellulose wadding.
 20. The method of claim 15 wherein said deregistered tow has a substantially rectangular configuration.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein said deregistered tow is an acetate tow.
 22. The method of claim 21 including folding said washed gauze material widthwise thereof so as to form anchorable tabs on either side of said deregistered tow material.
 23. A method of forming a lofty, porous, soft surgical dressing capable of supplying controlled pressure to a wound comprising: providing a portion of washed gauze material having three superimposed plies therein; deregistering permanently crimped acetate tow, said deregistering being three-dimensional; forming a batt of said deregistered acetate tow; covering said deregistered crimped tow with a crepe cellulose wadding; positioning said batt substantially in the middle of said washed gauze material; folding said washed gauze material lengthwise and widthwise of said tow material so as to cover said covered tow material. 